Business Plan Needed

Fillmore Real Estate is finishing the year off strong with sales gaining momentum at an amazing pace.  It’s time to rethink what we’re going to do for 2010 and believe it or not, we have not yet completed our business plan! Yikes!! Oh no, it’s December already and  we still have to make sure that our plan for next year is in place.  To be honest, I think that creating a more detailed and powerful business plan would be the best think I could do for the company as we prepare for a great rebound year.

Would you believe that the most successful independent real estate company in town never had a formal business plan?  Sure there were always goals and objectives, but never a business plan.  Furthermore, can you imagine running the business without a concrete budget in place?  I told you that I was going to be brutally honest as I embarked upon the journey of thereinhardtblog.com and this is as real as it gets.  I’m admitting my weaknesses, as I become aware of them and I recognize the need to do things differently.  I believe that true transparency will attract brokers and leaders from around the country to join in on the conversation.  It is my hope that we can all grow and learn from the challenges that we each face in the daily operations of  the real estate brokerage business.  I’ve been blessed with advice from some of the greatest masterminds in the industry; whether learned from private discussions, seminars attended or articles that I might have read.  The mission here is to continue to share advice

First, I need to explain that Dad ran the company with an amazing skill set and superhuman talents.  I don’t know how dad did it, but it seemed that he could walk into an office and instantly smell what was going on.  He didn’t have the latest computer generated reports, but he had something else.  He had an amazing sense of people skills.  He would chat with each of the agents and get a feel as to what was really going on.  Perhaps Mary was arguing with her spouse; dad would figure that her production would be down.  If Joe bought a new car, he was pumped and motivated to perform even better.  I don’t quite know the science behind it, but I have to imagine that it was a lot simpler then.  The mom and pop company did a lot of things a lot simpler.  Perhaps in the earlier days, you ran a company best from simply managing your relationships with each agent.

As the company grew, the complexities arose as it was now no longer possible to be as close to a few hundred agents on a regular basis.  Fillmore was transitioning from a mom and pop type company to a more corporate-like one.  “We’ve done without a business plan all these years,” dad might say, “Why would we need one now?”  When I reflect back on those earlier days, I see that dad did in fact have some sort of a business plan, but it was mostly in his amazing head.  He ran the ship…himself and made all the calls himself.  Discussions about what the company was going to do were again his thoughts and plans.  He would discuss informally with many important people in the company, to get feedback and suggestions, but it seems like the master plan was all in Dad’s mind and his heart.
Today, we have to do things a little differently.  First of all, I don’t have the blessing of being able to create the master plan and deploying it all from memory, and quite frankly, I think that the complexities of the industry have placed much higher demands on the broker/owners.  It’s simply not the same industry it was just a few years back.

The brokerage business has transformed into a much tougher and highly competitive business.  We have to be on top of all areas of the business in order to make sure that our company remains as the number one player in our market.  We need to constantly analyze where we’re investing our resources and explore better ways to reposition those funds and efforts to bring a greater return to the company.
Our agents are more demanding than ever before, and we must be generating the best leads, creating the best tools, offering the best training and motivational classes, while continuing to maintain an atmosphere that still feels like home.

So, I am now heavily into creating a business plan and budget for 2010.  I know it’s a little late and many of you reading this are saying, “Damn, that’s late,” as you might have already completed yours since September, but it’s a start…and I’m proud of it.  I will get this done by January 1^st, and next year I will get it done sooner.

As you can see, we are in the transition from a mom and pop to a corporate-like company.  I call this the corporatization of the real estate brokerage industry.

The first step is in admitting that we have a problem. (Maybe a problem is too harsh…we have an opportunity for improvement)
How many brokers reading this do not have a business plan?  (It’s ok..hey look, we’ve done it for over 40 years and we’re still selling more homes in our market than anyone else)
Imagine the opportunity and upside here.  We can get more organized, and in doing so we will increase productivity and profit…oh yes profit..isn’t that what we’re supposed to be in this game for?

I am exploring a few online business planners now that I have found to be helpful in getting me started along the way.  I have also blocked out 5 days on my calendar where I will meet with each person on my team to get down to the nitty gritty.  We will plan orchestrate and execute for 2010.

I’m not sure how it will go, but I’m excited about the fact that we’re heading in the right direction.
If this seems basic to you, congratulations.  If you have any ideas that you would like to share about this topic, please leave them here or contact me directly..via the links on this site.
If you’re in the same boat as me, let’s get together and conquer this challenge one piece at a time.  It’s not too late to start your plan.  It doesn’t have to be perfect, but it has to be the beginning of our efforts toward our new journey.

The industry is changing.  It is my goal to share and collaborate with brokers from all over that are at any stage of the process.  Let’s change the industry together.  Join me on my mission and let’s share in the victory in the end.  WE can make the real estate brokerage industry more corporate and professional.

Do something today to help your company or another company move closer toward:

The Corporatization of the Real Estate Brokerage Business
I will share my plan and progress with those who join me on this journey.
I invite you to get involved.
Finish 2009 off strong and Do it NOW.

Contact me if you are having any challenges or ideas to toss around.